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MotoGP

Marquez victorious in thrilling San Marino MotoGP

Defending world champion Marc Marquez won a thrilling San Marino MotoGP on Sunday which saw championship leader Valentino Rossi finish fifth and his Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo crash out.

Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain celebrates after winning the San Marino MotoGP in Misano on Sunday.
Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain celebrates after winning the San Marino MotoGP in Misano on Sunday. Reuters/Max Rossi
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Pole sitter Lorenzo took the early lead with Marquez and Rossi on his tail. However, early in the race, rain forced the riders to switch for bikes with wet tyres.

After the change, it was Marquez who jumped ahead of the Yamahas. However, just five laps later, as the track began drying out, Lorenzo and Rossi pulled ahead of Marquez’s Honda. He decided to switch back to a dry tyre bike much earlier than Rossi.

Marquez’s decision paid handsome dividends as he easily caught Rossi when the Italian rider finally decided to switch to slick tyres. The tactical error on Rossi’s part cost him the race.

The changing weather conditions made the race unpredictable as Bradley Smith and Scott Redding recorded their best ever result by finishing second and third respectively.

This was the first time since 1979 that two British riders had finished on the podium. Frenchman Loris Baz finished in fourth place.

Despite a disappointing finish, Rossi extended his championship lead to 23 points over Lorenzo with Marquez 63 points behind with five races to go.

Earlier, Frenchman Johann Zarco won his sixth race of the Moto2 season on Sunday as thereby extending his lead in the championship standings.

Itay's Enea Bastianini won the Moto3 race ahead of Portugal's Miguel Oliveira and another Italian, Niccolo Antonelli.

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